This post is a flashback to December 2007. Basically a magazine decided to produce a music video based on a fake ad I posted on Craigslist. People still seem to be entertained/confused by this story, so here it is again.

Act 1: Dropping Grenades in a Barrel of Tuna

December 2007
One day while diligently working at the library, I stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove of unintentional comedic desperation known as Craigslist’s Personal Ads.   Now, I have sympathy for these would-be online Don Juans, because hey, there’s nothing wrong with searching for a mate. And I’m sure genuine connections have been made.

However, some of the posters seem to have a slightly warped sense of reality. They seemed convinced that swimsuit models are sitting  alone at a computer in their cavernous mansions, browsing  the net for a dreamy 35 year old fat man.  But maybe this is true. Heck, I HOPE it’s true. Well, I needed to take a break from my studies,  so I wrote my own parody ad as a commentary on  these high, but very reasonable expectations.

I figured this might get a couple laughs and maybe even some hate mail. Either way, I managed to delay actual school work by another 30 minutes. Now it was time to resume my game of Kitten Canon,  I mean,  research paper.

Act 2: Some Guy From the Internet with a Grandiose Proposal

2 months Later
One day while wading through the daily deluge of viagra & debt consolidation spam, I find the following in my inbox:

Was this Email for real? Or was the Nigerian Prince running low on SPAM ideas? What is a Craigslist ‘Best of’ section and is it something to be proud of?

A lawyer friend of mine looked over the message and gave it a confident “yeah, it looks legit”.  I figured even if this is prank, what harm can come of it? I was getting hungry and I needed to get off the computer soon. So, I gave the ‘editor’ from the ‘magazine’ the green light. I then slid down my banister and nuked some Hot Pockets in the kitchen.

Final Act: The Guitar Hero has Landed

Around May 2008 or so, I check Details.com and I see in bold letters: GUITAR HERO: SONGS IN THE KEY OF CRAIGSLIST. Could this be it? I click on the link and read the intro blurb:

“Craigslist personal ads reveal our most bizarre, most perverse fetishes and they sound awesome set to music! Check out our series of so-weird-you-have-to-watch posts-turned-music videos for proof.”

That’s right. Not only were they convinced the writer of the ad was real, they actually took the words from my post, line-for-line and  transformed them into a full length 80’s monster ballad, hired a director, film crew and cast members to dramatically recreate the scenes  in the form of a music video.

I’d like to thank the visionary director (who I can only assume is Stephen Spielberg) for transforming my poorly written craigslist parody into this 2 and half minute masterpiece.

Epilogue

This experience has taught me that at least one of the following is true:

1) You can be a fat lard & still be revered as a demi-god if you’re good at video games.
2) If a stranger from the internet emails you with big promises he’s probably legit.
3) Some of your best ideas come to you when you’re completely goofing off.

No, I didn’t get paid much/at all, but to be honest , I didn’t care. I wasn’t in it for the money. I wanted to make a difference. And that day, a fat man in a ‘Wang Computers’ t-shirt became a superstar.. or at least he played one on tv.

Promote Post